Nis, 11 January 2009 - On the annual ceremonial session of the City’s Assembly, on January 11th, the City of Nis presented Ms. Ligia Ramirez, the Head of UN-HABITAT Office in Belgrade and the SIRP Chief Technical Adviser, with the honorary citizenship award for her exceptional contributions to the process of formulation of the City’s Development Strategy as well as for her considerate continuous promotion of the Strategy and the City itself, in Serbia and abroad.

“Dragi prijatelji (Dear friends”)”, said Ms. Ramirez in Serbian at the beginning of her acceptance speech” it is a great honor to receive such an homage. This day I am going to speak to you not from my head, but from my heart. Although it looked as a tough task some four years ago, when we started work with your City, with the SIRP Programme and then for the formulation of the city development strategy, I must say that I simply fell in love with Nis. I engaged my energies and used my experience, but I also had an excellent collaboration with some 200 citizens of Nis that actively participated in the process.”

“The strategy document itself”, emphasized Ms. Ramirez, “is just a beginning of a huge impending work, as this award is a sign that the city wants to continue with the commitment for change and development in which we worked together”.

The award was presented by the City Mayor, Mr. Milos Simonovic and by the Chairman of the City Assembly, Mr. Mile Ilic, in the presence of the City Assembly, numerous other esteemed attendees and representatives of national and local media.

Traditionally, each year on January 11th, when the City marks the liberation day from the Ottoman occupation in 1878, the City of Nis awards individuals and/or organizations especially meritorious for promoting the City and contributing to its esteem and broader visibility with their work.